Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Daily Fantasy Basketball: FanDuel Values for March 11th

If you play daily fantasy sports (and who doesn't these days?!), you know that one of the keys to success is uncovering undervalued players to allow you to load up on studs elsewhere.

In case you've never played daily fantasy basketball, every player has a salary and your roster cannot exceed the game's salary-cap maximum.

For FanDuel leagues, rosters consist of nine players and the salary cap is $60,000, which averages to roughly $6,667 per player. To give you an idea of the range for Tuesday's games, Thunder SF Kevin Durant ($12,000) has the contest's highest salary while many are tied for the lowest at the game-minimum salary ($3,500).

There are a number of benefits compared to traditional full-season re-draft leagues, such as:

you don't have to worry about being saddled by players sidelined by injury;

having a late pick doesn't rule out owning studs like Kevin Durant or LeBron James;

you get the instant gratification of winning your league(s) that night.

And you know that enthusiasm you have after drafting your fantasy team(s)? Well, you get to experience that feeling on a nightly basis with daily fantasy basketball.

OK, with the preliminary stuff out of the way, here are some value plays to consider for Tuesday (March 11th) FanDuel leagues:

PG - Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies (vs. POR), $6,700: Even though he had only 4.1 fantasy points against the Nets last Wednesday, Conley has scored more than 30 fantasy points in four of his other five most recent games. Conley has averaged 15.2 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals during that stretch. Only the Sixers and Cavs have allowed more fantasy points to opposing points this season than the Blazers.

PG - Brandon Jennings, Detroit Pistons (vs. SAC), $6,600: Jennings has played 30-plus minutes in his past four games including a recent high of 39 points in his last outing. In those four games, Jennings has scored a minimum of 23.9 fantasy points per game. Tonight, Jennings and the Pistons face the Kings, who have allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to opposing point guards.

PG - Ray McCallum, Sacramento Kings (at DET), $3,500: Born in Detroit, McCallum returns home to face the Pistons, who have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points this season to opposing point guards. McCallum is coming off a quiet night against the Nets on Sunday (7.4 fantasy points in 30 minutes), but he had scored 16.6 to 21.3 fantasy points in each of his previous four games.

SG - Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs (at CHI), $4,800: While the matchup is far from favorable, Green has been productive recently and his production should at least exceed his relatively modest cost. In his past three games, Green has averaged 26.33 fantasy points per game. Doing a bit of everything, Green has averaged 13.33 points, 3.0 treys, 3.33 boards, 3.33 assists, 1.67 blocks and 1.0 steals per game over his past three.

SG - Devin Harris, Dallas Mavericks (at GS), $4,300: Over his past three games, Harris has averaged 26.03 fantasy points per game including 35.7 of them on Sunday against the Pacers. During that three-game span, Harris has averaged 11.33 points, 5.67 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

SF - Corey Brewer, Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. MIL), $5,000: In 44 minutes against the Raptors on Sunday, Brewer had 17 points, six steals, three assists and three rebounds as he scored 39.1 fantasy points. In his past 10 games, he has seven games with multiple steals (22 steals in those games) and three games with none. That said, the Bucks have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing small forwards.

SF - Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks (at MIN), $4,900: With a strong all-around performance, Middleton scored 43.7 fantasy points against the Magic last night. Middleton knocked down five-of-eight three-pointers as he scored 21 points and added six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block. Over his past four games, he has scored a minimum of 23.3 fantasy points in each game.

When it comes to the 11 teams that allow the most fantasy points to opposing power forwards, only four of them play tonight. Each of those teams face stud power forwards: Rockets (4th-most, Serge Ibaka - $8,200), Bucks (6th-most, Kevin Love - $11,800) and Mavs (8th most, David Lee - $7,800) and Kings (9th most, Greg Monroe - $7,800).

PF - Ersan Ilyasova, Milwaukee Bucks (at MIN), $5,500: The Timbewolves allow the 12th-most fantasy points to opposing power forwards this season. As noted above, the 11 teams that allow the most are all facing pricier options at the position. Ilyasova posted a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) and finished with 30.7 fantasy points last night against the Magic. Despite some inconsistency, he has scored at least 24.7 fantasy points in four of the five games he has played this month.

PF - Boris Diaw, San Antonio Spurs (at CHI), $5,100: The matchup isn't favorable and Diaw had a six-game low in fantasy points (20.6) against the Magic in his most recent game. That said, he contributes in a variety of ways and should at least be able to give you 20 fantasy points as a floor.

C - Nikola Pekovic, Minnesota Timberwolves (vs. MIL), $6,800: Pek has played in five games since returning from injury and he has been solid: 24.2 to 31.8 fantasy points each outing. While his production has primarily come from just two categories, he is averaging a respectable 17.4/8.8 during those five games. With a favorable matchup, the Bucks allow the third-most fantasy points to opposing centers, Pekovic has an opportunity to excel tonight.